Category Archives: World Events

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The Sound That Changes Things

The Lord reigns! Let the earth rejoice; let the many coasts and islands be glad. Clouds and total darkness surround him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Fire goes before him and burns up his foes on every side. His lightning lights up the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord—at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. The heavens proclaim his righteousness; all the peoples see his glory.

Psalm 97
There is a sound I love to hear
It's the sound of the Savior's robe
As He walks into the room where people pray
Where we hear praises He hears faith
Where we hear worship He hears faith

Y’all. The last couple of weeks have been rough. Really rough. Can we all agree on at least that much? There is so much going on, and so much shouting on all sides.

So many people telling us through their posts and speeches and tweets and instas that “silence is violence” and if we don’t say something we are horrible people. And at the same time these same folks are shouting at us to shut up and listen.

Add to that, there are some things going on in my own life that are looming large and weighing me down. Issues that don’t need to be mentioned here, but dang, I could use some prayer y’all!! Truly.

It’s been a really, really rough couple of weeks. I’ve cried more than I’ve laughed. I’ve grieved more than I’ve celebrated. And I’ve yelled and screamed into the silence of my home (or to my television or computer or to God) more than I’ve said in public (or private) to anyone.

Awake my soul and sing
Sing His praise aloud
Sing His praise aloud

My dad fought in Vietnam but he never talked about it. I often wondered why. When I finally asked him, he simply said there were too many people already shouting about it, loudly, and he didn’t want to add to the cacophony of voices. He had his (very strong) opinions, but chose to keep them to himself – unless asked, privately – because there was already too much noise about it in the world. The war was far more complex, he said, than most made it out to be, and his opinions would take someone who was willing to listen and ponder and be open to the complexity. In other words, it would take someone who wasn’t a black-or-white right-or-wrong thinker, someone who understood the world was full of variances of greys, particularly when it comes to situations and people. And war.

I didn’t understand then, but I get it now; I get what my dad meant, and why he kept his opinions about such a controversial issue to himself. Every time I’ve gotten on Social Media over the last couple of weeks there is a cacophony of voices shouting at… I don’t know who… “everyone else” I guess… about all that’s going on, telling anyone and everyone who disagrees that they are horrible people. There’s so much black-or-white-right-or-wrong-all-or-nothing thinking going on!! And no one is actually listening to anyone else.

There is a sound that changes things
The sound of His people on their knees
Oh wake up you slumbering
It's time to worship Him

Here’s the thing, Brothers and Sisters in Jesus: We aren’t going to change things with posts on Facebook, tweets on twitter, or stories on instagram that just shout out our opinions and shout down anyone who disagrees with us. We’re just not. We might get some cool positive strokes from “friends” with the same political bent, or who hold the same opinions we do, but we aren’t going to change anyone else’s mind. And are we really advancing the Kingdom of God when we do this? I don’t think so. Posting a black square for a day, or making some symbol of something our profile picture, may make us feel good for a moment, but it does little to change the world or advance God’s Kingdom.

UNLESS that symbol, that black square, drives us to stop posting, close our computers, get on our knees and pray and worship Jesus.

Awake my soul and sing
Sing His praises loud
Sing His praises loud

Before you go off on me that right now we need action, not prayer (or maybe action with prayer) let me remind you of a couple of the many times prayer and praise accomplished more than any human action could.

In Acts 16 we see that our God delivers individuals who choose to pray and worship Him – while also benefitting all those around them! Paul and Silas were in prison for freeing a woman from a evil spirit. That spirit was profiting a particular man greatly and he was really pissed about losing that profit. So that man had them put in prison.

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the jail were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains came loose.”

Acts 16:25 – 26

Did you catch that last part? Not just the good guys were freed by God; everyone, even all the criminals in the jail, were freed! Because two men chose to pray and worship.

And in 2 Chronicles 20, we see our God delivers an entire nation (Judah) from a horde of enemies because they chose to praise Him – and not one of them raised a weapon in their own defense.

“The moment they began their shouts and praises, the Lord set an ambush against the Ammonites, Moabites, and the inhabitants of Mount Seir who came to fight against Judah, and they were defeated. The Ammonites and Moabites turned against the inhabitants of Mount Seir and completely annihilated them. When they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, they helped destroy each other.”

2 Chronicles 20:22 – 23

All these nations had conspired together to take Judah down, and it scared the crap out of the King, Jehoshaphat! His fear drove him to his knees in prayer. Not only that, but he called all of Judah to pray and fast…and they did. And. God. Moved. On their behalf.

There are so many other examples throughout Scripture of God moving, powerfully, mightily, in huge ways and in small ways that make mighty differences in the world! I challenge you to find more and post them in the comments. Let’s encourage each other with how powerful and good and righteous and holy is our God!

And when He moves
And when we pray
Where stood a wall now stands a way
Where every promise is amen

Do you know why these things happened? Because God saw the faith of His people. Where we see His people praying, worshipping, crying out to Him, God sees faith.

Now, not everyone believed He would move – but they most believed He could. And I’ve discovered – at least in my own life – that that is enough for God. When He sees my faith that He can, even when I admit I don’t know if He will, He moves and shows me He will. And, man, that increases my faith! It’s helps my unbelief! Sometimes I don’t even have to believe He can. I just cry out; and He hears faith in that cry. Isn’t that amazing!

Seriously, y’all! Our God is incredible! Marvelous! Awe-inspiring!

When God’s people pray and worship Him, when we admit who we are and focus on who He is — holy, righteous, just, merciful, loving, gracious, patient, slow to anger, all-powerful, all-knowing, always present– when we focus on Him, He does miraculous things!

And when He moves
Make no mistake
The bowels of hell begin to shake
All hail the Lord all hail the King

Sometimes He tells us to just watch Him work. Wouldn’t that be amazing to see Him work in our country right now!! And sometimes He lets us be a part of the miracle. He sometimes even calls us to be a part of it, pressing in on us and giving us words to speak and actions to take. Oftentimes those are very scary and demand a great deal from us personally. They aren’t what’s popular or cool; they aren’t what the rest of the world is saying or doing — or perhaps it requires us to change, to allow His love to permeate us and transform us rather than someone else. Whatever it is, His call to action is never easy. It requires faith. It requires prayer and praise. Lots of prayer and praise.

I know. I’ve had the great privilege of being called out by God, and man, it’s scary! And it’s hard! But you know what? That’s also when it get’s so exciting because it’s GOD-initiated rather than self-initiated. And God will see it through! As one of my pastors, Dave Buehring, says, “What God initiates, He permeates. What we initiate, we have to sustain.”

When we let God determine our words, our posts, our tweets, our instas, and our actions, He permeates them with His power and causes them to do all He plans for them to do. But we can’t know what those words and actions are if we don’t first go to our knees in prayer and praise.

It is the sound that changes things: us getting on our knees, praying and praising God. I know it’s hard to do right now. So many people shouting and pulling our attention away from God and to a myriad of issues – some very valid, some completely made up – that seem to demand all our time right now.

But right now is the precise time we need to fall on our knees and pray. We need to humble ourselves before our God, let Him search our hearts and show us where we have missed the mark. We need to know what our God thinks of all of this. We need to know what He wants us to do; what He needs us to do. That may mean we remain silent on some things. It may also mean we have to say and/or do hard things that go against the world’s opinions.

And right now is also the precise time we need to fall on our knees in praise to praise the God of the Universe, the God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the only God who can restore us to sanity! And He will, if we but ask Him. But it’s not going to be an easy, pain-free path. For anyone.

Sing His praises loud, y’all! It is the sound that changes things.

Oh let the King of glory enter in!
Fall down on your knees and worship Him!
Let His praise rise up don't hold it in!

Awake My Soul by Brooke Ligertwood – Hillsong Worship

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The Cost of Freedom

Flag_draped_coffins_on_the_beach_1

No matter what your personal opinion of the Iraq war, you gotta realize that this is the price we pay for the freedoms we enjoy; even the ones that let us vehemently disagree with our leaders and our military.

The amazing thing to me is that no matter what we say, even if we rail against what they are doing, our military will still fight, and die, so we will remain free. That is truly something to lauded.

Photo by the amazing Kat Bonson. All her memorial pictures can be found here.  The organization that puts on these memorials in Santa Monica is called Arlington West.

NOTE: I do not put this up to rail against the war, or to make a statement for it.  I am personally conflicted about it, and do not see a clear solution or easy answers anywhere.

Rather, I put this up as a salute to all the brave men and women who fought and died for the freedoms I enjoy. Whether it was in Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Korea, World War II, World War I, The Civil War, or the American Revolution, many, many people have given their lives so that I can live free. Free to pursue my particular dreams, to worship the God I want the way I want, to speak my mind on any matter I desire, to travel when and where I want…. I am blessed. We are blessed. Because they were/are willing to stand against tyranny and say, "not on my watch."

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How Can This Be??

Our intern, a graphic design major at a UT school, just told me she’s never heard of the EU and doesn’t know anything about it.

Huh???

How is that possible?? How does a 25 year-old graduate from high school and make it all the way through to her senior year of college — including a couple of years for just working and hanging out — and not learn about the fastest growing, most loudly self-promoting, and somewhat influential political body in the world today?? Just what are they teaching in schools today???

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Only God Can Do This

Drawn_hisham_zreiq
Wade Burleson has a wonderful blog that, if you haven’t checked it out yet, you need to read. Today he had a very thought-provoking post about the tension between mission and military success.

"It bothers me that I am not bothered by the death of by the Islamic fantatics [sic]. I wonder if we in the Christian West are in danger of becoming just like the Muslims in the East."

That statement resonated deep within me. I think sometimes people think I’m either a rabid military fanatic because of my support for them and what they are trying to do in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, or they think I’m a weepy wimp for my grieving over the lives lost in the wars and conflicts going on right now. I sometimes confuse myself for all the emotions running around inside me. There is definitely a tension between the side of me that cries out for justice (and perhaps revenge?) for what the terrorists do and the side of me that just cries out for the lives taken in any military action, including those of the terrorists.

I wasn’t always this conflicted, this emotionally wacky, when it comes to the people of the Arab world. There was a time when it evoked only one emotion. But to explain, I need to start in the middle.

God asked me to go to NAME the spring before 9/11. It was a bit of a shock to me, as I’d spent most of my time in China or Japan and was actually on a 4-month assignment in India when He asked — I mean, if God’s going to send me overseas, I just assumed it would be one of the countries and peoples He’d already planted in my heart. But God’s ways are just a little different than mine….

Anyway, I thought little of His place of choice, other than the oddness of where it was not, until the weekend after the towers fell in 2001.

I remember that as I watched the twin towers fall and the fires in the Pentagon rage something deep within my soul cried out, "Father forgive them! They don’t know what they are doing." I kept repeating that all day long. And my heart grieved not only for the people in the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and all their families, but also for the pilots of the planes. They had started the morning thinking they were going to enter Paradise, and be celebrated as heroes. They ended it stepping before Almighty God and being found guilty of grievous sins and not allowed into Paradise for all eternity.

I grieved for what they had done unknowingly yet purposefully.

That weekend however, a great rage grew in my heart. And that Sunday night I sat at Urban listening to Erwin talk about the week’s events and reading from Isaiah 6, and hearing God whisper to me, "will you go? I want you to go to them," and my heart burned with rage and my face burned with tears. An absolute rage and built inside me early in the weekend and came bursting forth like a roaring wildfire in the dry hills of Malibu in October, just consuming everything in its sight. And the tears flowed as I realized just how much hatred had grown in my heart for a people I’d never even met. In my teen years I watched "America Held Hostage" (it later became "Nightline") night after night. I watched Iranians burn American flags and effigies of my President(s) and scream about the infidel Americans and how awful we were and how we must be wiped off the face of the earth. Since that time I’d harbored a deep, deep anger, even hatred, for Arabs in general and Muslims in specific, and I didn’t even know it. Until that Sunday in September 2001.

And on that same night, I heart God whisper to me, "will you go? I want you to go."

Why in the world was God calling me to NAME?? Why was He calling me to be His advocate, His ambassador, His intercessor, for these hateful, hateful people? My mind was consumed with pictures of them as ugly, mean and… hateful… people. And I hated them. I’d never known that about myself till the weekend after 9/11. But it was true down to the core of my being. I hated them, with a passion, and did not want to share Jesus with them at all. And yet here is God asking me to go to them and share the Gospel with them??? Did He not realize what was in my heart? —- Though I didn’t think of the similarities at the time, as I type this now it conjures up images of Jonah, and the shock and confusion he must felt when God asked Him to go to Nineveh.

I struggled and struggled with my anger and hatred — I couldn’t believe I had such a ugly feelings for people I’d never met. I’d never felt that way before. Never realized I was even capable of such deep hatred.

And I fought with God over His "wisdom" in asking me to go. One day He finally grabbed my face in His hands and quietly said, "who better to go than you? Than someone who for so long has hated but will someday love them as I do."

Yeah, I thought that was pretty wacked too. But it turns out… perhaps He was right…

In the following months, as I prepared to go, and the year I spent in the region, God did something I never thought possible. He turned my hate into crazy love, my anger into sorrow and tears, and my questioning of His wisdom into begging Him to rain down and drench NAME with blessing upon blessing. It didn’t come all at once. It came in slow increments. But it came. I learned about the cultures. I learned about Islam. I learned about God’s love for the people. And one day I realized, I loved these people. I cared about them and I wept over them.

All I did was ask God to give me His love for them, since I had none of my own. And I said, "yes. If You want me to go, I’ll go. I think You’re crazy, but I’ll go."

I remember spending many nights in my flat in Cyprus on my knees crying out to God to "let it rain on NAME," on all its peoples; to open the floodgates of heaven and drench them with His love and grace and mercy; to wrap them in His arms and whisper His love and His Truth to them; the Truth of who they really are, the people He sees them as, not the people the enemy has tricked them into believing they are. My heart ached and burned with passion, with love, for the people I once hated.

Only God can do that.

Even though I no longer serve that region as a paid advocate (missionary), I still serve them through my prayers, and through my conversations with people about the region and its people; the beauty not only of the land, but of all its peoples with all their diversity of cultures and religions. I guess you could kind of say I left part of my heart in Northern Africa and the Middle East, and God planted NAME deep within the rest of my heart still in me.

I used to not have any problem with killing terrorists. Now, even though I realize that sometimes their deaths are necessary for the safety of thousands, my heart grieves every time one dies.

Isn’t that weird? And yet kinda cool at the same time.

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How Then Shall We Live?

I spent the weekend glued to the news channels watching events unfold in the Middle East. It was like a bad accident on the freeway and I just couldn’t stop myself from rubber-necking.  It all continues to break my heart; people dying without Jesus; people suffering and grieving, losing everything they own, going hungry and living in fear; terrorists refusing to give up their ways; bombing innocent people, spewing forth hate and encouraging more hate.

I know it all must break God’s heart.

Becky asked a question about my previous post on this war. She asked,

"So how do we live focused on Him…..so those that don’t know…aren’t completely undone??"

Such a good question! But I think you answered it, at least in part, within your question: Keep our focus on God. This is how I believe we keep ourselves from coming completely undone. Keeping others from coming undone is another matter…

After spending many days writing and re-writing this post, all I can truly offer you is the reason I still have hope, the way I still live focused on Jesus, and pray that somehow my post will make sense to you.

My relationship with Jesus is very, very intimate. He has burrowed his way into the depths of my heart and soul and set up camp there. He speaks to me every moment of the day; and yeah, I really do hear His voice. Call me crazy if you like. But God speaks to me, personally. Not just "through His Word", as in through the Bible, but truly in words and images He puts in my head and through strong gut feelings and "knowings" (the only way I know how to express the strong convictions I get at times) in my soul. But more than speaking and revealing, He moves me. Deep within, He excites me and inspires me.

We are connected at a level I have never known before. He satisfies me in a way nothing ever has before. And it just grows deeper every day.

From the time I was little I knew God talked to me. Around 11 or 12 my relationship with God really started developing, as I "discovered" the Bible as something written just for me, like love letters and how-tos and explanations on how things work written with me in mind and in a way I could understand. I had never understood the Bible so clearly before, it had never actually made sense before that time, now suddenly it did; and within weeks I was walking the fields behind my home every morning at dawn and talking to God about everything from the beauty of the sunrise to the speed of the jackrabbits running across the path in front of us to the deeper meanings of Galatians or Ephesians.

Since that time I very often sense the presence of God, literally feel Him sitting beside me, and hear His voice as He speaks to me, jokes with me, points things out to me; I’ve even had visions from Him and dreams too, mostly about current things but a couple of times it was a warning of future danger.

I used to think I was weird; that this kind of thing wasn’t normal for the average Christian. I thought I just inherited it from my mom, who from a very young age used to talk with God in her family’s apple orchards after school, even though she didn’t become a follower if Jesus until she was in her early 20s. Throughout her life she was a very strong prayer warrior. But most people I talked to didn’t have the kind of intimate conversations with God that my mom did and I do. I thought it was sad because I want everyone to know the God of crazy jokes and wild love that I do, but I learned to keep my mouth shut because of the ridicule the church can dole out to weirdos like me.

It wasn’t until I went to Mosaic LA and heard Erwin talk about hearing from God, talking with God, the same way I do that I finally realized, "hey wait. This is the way it’s supposed to be for followers of Jesus! I’m not so weird after all!"

Thirteen years later I am fully convinced beyond doubt that the only way to keep your focus on God, to live focused on Him, is to live in deep intimacy with Him. Deeper than I have even — which is hard for me to imagine, but I know it must exist.

I think this is what is missing in the life of the Church today. We talk about being "on mission" and loving each other and loving those who don’t know Jesus; of being relevant to the culture we live in, of submitting all our dreams to God and of dreaming big with and for God. And we strive and strive and strive to do these things, all on our own. And we feel somehow sinful when we finally fail and cry out to God, "I just can’t do it." When all the while He’s thinking, "of course you can’t! I never made you do to that alone. When are you going to ask me to help you, to do it for you and with you? When are you going to include me in your prayers, and listen to what I have to say, because I am talking you know, or at least I want to and would if I could get a word in edge-wise in your prayer time. Listen to Me! Fight with Me. Include Me!"

When I talk to most Christians outside of Mosaic I still get the sideways looks when I talk about what God said to me recently. Or I get looks of envy, where people tell me how they wish God spoke to them that way, but that He just doesn’t. I’ve always wished I had the courage say what I really think, which is, "bullshit. Yes He does. Or at least He wants to. He wants to talk with you that way. He wants you to hear His whispers and His jokes and teasing. He wants you to fight with Him, to wrestle with Him until dawn as Jacob did. He wants to have the same kind of relationship with you. He wants it. The only one holding Him back is you."

But I think I would get punched, hard, if I actually said that, don’t you?

But I have to tell ya, I sincerely believe, with all my heart, that lack intimacy with God is at the core of what ails most followers of Jesus. Just hearing God’s voice and conversing with Him isn’t enough. I speak from experience.

Even though I have heard His voice since I was very young, and conversed with Him ever since then, it wasn’t until the ache in my soul became unbearable eight years ago that I finally heard God’s whispering promise that intimacy with Him would breathe Life into every dry bone and dead fiber of my being. Many things led up to that moment, too many to talk of here, but I have never been the same since. I have been on a constant thrill-ride journey that continually strips away all my pretenses and all my vices so that I am free to wrap my arms fully around God, around my Bridegroom, and press into Him completely, and be more intimate with Him today than I was the day before.

‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel.  Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.’ " Ezek 37:12-14

Do you really talk to God, like you talk to your friends? Not the holy-church kind of talk — God bless the Middle East and bring peace to the world… — but really talk. "Man, this stinks! This is scary. I don’t know what to do with this. I’m afraid…. I love this! This is so beautiful. What do you think?"

Do you really listen to God, or rather, listen for God’s voice. Not the one that comes from the black ink on the pages of the Bible, though that one is just just as relevant and powerful and meaningful. But do you listen for that still small voice of Holy Spirit, quietly whispering, "I am with you. I love you. No one can snatch you out of My hand. You are Mine. My purposes will stand. I am He. I make known the beginning from the end. I call you friend…."

That is where intimacy begins. In the quiet still whispers of God. In His gentle loving responses to your expressions to Him of agony and fear and, yes, anger. In His call to argue your case with Him; in His willingness to wrestle with you until dawn and in your willingness to open the most fragile places of our hearts and lay them bare before Him.

The question is, will you enter into intimacy with Him? Will you step into that life?

I am convinced that only through this path of intimacy can true peace and hope be found. Only down this path do we learn how to really keep our focus on Him. And only through this intimacy do we really Live.

Does that make sense? Have I lost you along the way? Did I answer your question, Becky? Or just confuse you more…?

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The Reality of War – And a Rant for Good Measure

Has anyone noticed that we seem to be headed for global war number three?

North Korea launches rocket tests on our Independence Day, in defiance of warnings from several nations (including us), but with silent support from Russia and China. Trains in Mumbai are bombed. There’s still a war in Afghanistan, with passive support from Pakistan by hiding terrorists in in their mountains. Iran is building their own nuclear arsenal and thumbing its nose at America while Russia quietly stands behind them. Iran and Syria are supporting, both monetarily and with materiel, the continuing terror attacks on Israel by Hamas and Hezbollah. Saudi, Syria and Iran are supporting the terrorists still wreaking havoc on the Iraqi people under the guise of an "insurgence" against the infidels. The UK says there are at least 20 different terror cells somewhere within their borders. And then we’ve got the 8 American citizens (that we know of) who were plotting and planning terror attacks on their own country. (What are they thinking?!?!?)

If the world isn’t on fire yet, it soon will be; blazing like those out of control wild fires in Southern California.

I have friends who live in Israel. I have friends who live in Beirut (well, not any more; now they are fleeing north or west). Three years ago around this time I had planned to spend two weeks in Lebanon and Syria, and Christmas in Jerusalem. Those plans were canceled by my parent’s deaths. But I had hopes of visiting some day. Even now, everything in me wants to go there and do something. But what would I do?

To see the dead and wounded, on both sides, hurts my soul more than I can express. It breaks my heart to see the devastation and know that the rubble on the screen was once someone’s home, or someone’s place of work and income.

I received an email last night from some of those friends, telling of their narrow escape from Israeli bombs in their own neighborhood. It told of how their friends and neighbors reacted as the bombs fell. Among those were a 20 year-old who had a nervous breakdown even as the the rockets fell and bombs exploded; and a five year-old who, "crawled into a corner with fear on his face and froze there for the whole time.”

Oh, my heart grieves for the children! For everyone who must live through the horror of war.

How blessed, and how spoiled, we are here in America. We haven’t seen a war on our shores since our own Civil War over a hundred years ago. Yes, we were bombed  at Pearl Harbor, and yes we were bombed in New York and D.C. One-time attacks — which we swiftly exacted retribution for, btw — that are nothing in comparison to daily, hourly bombing runs of jets and rockets. We no nothing of real war.
Especially my generation.

My parent’s generation knew war. They lived through the first world war, through the depression and through the second world war. They knew what it was to suffer through desperate hunger, extreme unemployment and sorrowful loss of son after son after son. But most of them have now died.

We are left with the Boomers, and my generation and the one after.

Only our soldiers know of war now. And too often they receive our "national scorn" over battles and wars fought far away for freedoms we are so accustomed that we completely forget the rest of the world does not have them. We blame them for the decisions of compassionate leaders who choose to send our soldiers into harms way to liberate and offer the freedoms to others who have never known them in their national/ethnic history.

We whine about $3/gal gas yet buy another gas-guzzling SUV and drive 800+ miles on our various vacations through the year because airline prices are "too high". We cry about high healthcare costs, rising interest rates and increasingly expensive groceries yet we still eat too much (I’m preaching to myself here too, fyi), live beyond our means and insist on getting a battery of tests and a round of antibiotics every time we sneeze.

We obsess on conspiracy theories about JFK (I mean, come on! Put it to rest already), demand our rights be respected and insist on having everything our way, and cry "Global Warming"  while at the same time are completely oblivious to the  deep ongoing needs of the poor and oppressed of our world, trash any group who stands up for their own beliefs and convictions with the new hip epithet of "religious right" and label them "intolerant" all while driving our SUVs the 20 miles to work and 20 miles back, carry our groceries home in plastic bags (obviously you’ve never been to India or Ethiopia and seen how those plastic bags collect in rivers and lakes and cling to every desert plant; they don’t just disappear when you throw them away people!), and veto every public transportation bill because it’s too expensive or "it will create too much noise and draw ‘undesirable’ people to my neighborhood," or "bring down the value of my home."

Yes, we are a spoiled people, America. But I think our time is just about up. I think the rest of the world is about to give us a good swift kick in the ass.

Oh, we’ll kick back.

And beat the living crap out of them. But we will still pay a high price.

And perhaps, just perhaps, we will finally be humbled enough (or is that humiliated?) to finally see what our forefathers knew their whole lives: we have it really, really, reeeeaaally good; we are blessed beyond measure and its time we appreciated that instead of taking it for granted.

Okay, I’m stepping off my soap box… for now.

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Deployed

I received an email from my brother tonight, letting me know my nephew-in-law (my niece, Billie’s, husband) has officially left for Iraq.

Ed left for Iraq this morning. It’s supposed to be a 7 month deployment but we all know how that’s been working out.
He will be based in the north, repairing equipment that is being used to secure the border. That means he will occasionally be required to go get equipment in the field that has broken down…. which is dangerous. The terrorists are, for good reason, fighting this build up along the border.

Please remember my nephew, Ed, my niece Billie and their two young sons during this time.

I know his heart, and he walks with Jesus. I know his desire is that all who see him will see Jesus more than they see an American soldier. Please pray that this will happen. Pray that his presence in Iraq will have eternal consequences, even as he serve the Iraqi people to make their home a better, safer and free land.

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India’s Big Screen Ideas for Jesus Followers

The price for following Jesus in India just went up.

Big-screen infomercial in India discourages conversions – (BP)

The president of the Indian Association of Producers, Artists and Technicians of Short Films and Television Programs, Devendra Khandelwal, said the public service-type short film was made to “educate” cinema audiences about Gujarat’s Freedom of Religion Act of 2003, Compass reported. The law prohibits conversion “by the use of force or allurement or by fraudulent means.”

As described by Compass, the act stipulates that would-be converts must obtain permission from district officials before they convert. Priests or religious officials also must contact district authorities before a conversion takes place. Failure to comply with these requirements can lead to imprisonment for up to four years and a maximum fine of 100,000 rupees ($2,294).

What people don’t get is that the cost of "conversion" is much higher than any monetary price. If not handled properly and with respect for the familial ties, especially one’s elders, the price is exclusion from one’s own family, community and society.

What India needs is not more Christian "converts". What it needs is Hindu Christ devotees, who worship only Jesus because He has proven He is worthy of exclusive devotion; and because of their love and commitment to Him they honor their families, their culture, their heritage and their country. Only then will the great news of Abundant Life in Christ spread across India.

I wonder what the American Church — we who claim to follow Jesus in this country — would look like if we had this obstacle?

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Congratulations Iraq!

My highest praise to all who voted in today’s elections! You are awesome! You have taken a HUGE step into the control of your country’s direction.

It took a tremendous courage I cannot even begin to comprehend to vote today. I stand in awe of you. And I am humbled by your determination and commitment.

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Tsunami

I’ve stayed away from this subject because I can’t think of adequate words to describe the depth of sorrow and empathy in my heart for everyone touched by this tragedy. Many blogs have been focused on it all week, the news has been filled with new and unfolding details, and all my conversations have been peppered with it as well.

What can one say in the face of such disaster?

My heart breaks for everyone who’s lost someone they love, for all those — especially mothers — who had to make a choice between saving one child and letting another, or all others, die, or risking death for all of them because she can’t save them all, for all who watched others, especially loved ones, swept away by raging waters or dragged under by currents or buried under debris or cannot find their loved ones now. I cannot fathom the nightmares the survivors have, or the pain they are in. Nor can I fathom how much work is ahead of them to continue to survive.

To say that this tragedy puts my life in perspective is, to me, to trivialize it. This isn’t about me at all. It has nothing to do with me and has only impacted me on an emotional level that is so far below what others are currently experiencing its hideously selfish to even mention.

What can be done now?

So many are in need. So many will never be the same. Perhaps that is good. Perhaps it was time for a change for this region of the world. Hopefully, as the people rebuild, they will be able to see new possibilities and realize a better future for everyone who is left than what they had before. But I fear that will be a long time in coming. These folks are in for a very long, hard climb out of the rubble.

I’ve been amazed and proud to see the outpouring of support and help that has flooded the region. I’ve been very encouraged by the major corporations who have kicked in millions to support the relief effort, and even more so by all the individuals who have given millions through Red Cross and other organizations.

All we can do now is continue that flow. Continue to pray, continue to send —- and perhaps even volunteer to go. My brother called me last night and as we talked he mentioned that  World Vision desperately needs people to go to the region (he lives in Seattle where their headquarters is). They have a huge amount of money that’s poured in for the effort and now all that’s missing is people to go and do. I admit, I was very tempted to sign up right then. I don’t know what I could do, but I’m ready to go do whatever I can.

Wendy has written a couple of good posts on the Tsunami, and ways we can help.

Beyond this, the best I can think to do is continually pray for all those affected by this tragedy. They need strength, grace and hope only God can give.